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Warthorn Elf
Warthorn Elves are the most war-like Elves, hailing from the Highlands of Cartham and the city of Maoldonaich. They specialize in battle tactics. They are usually sturdy, strong and muscular. They often get into wars with all Clans and races. The Warthorn clan have served the Carthian royal family since the Era of Creation. Born with the singular purpose of guiding and guarding the royal family, they protect and pass down the traditions of Cartham and its leaders. The very existence of the Warthorn is typically a secret to all but members of the royal family and those close to them. Their clan best fulfills its duty when acting in secret, as shadows of Cartham. In eras of war, they are essential agents of the royal family, handling all manner of duties, from combat to intelligence gathering. No matter how dark or perilous the task, they will do what is necessary to keep the kingdom from harm. History Emergence of the Warthorn Around year 13, a tribe of Elves from Bloodleaf Lake and the Blackhelm River basin came northward to settle in a remote valley of the Highlands. Led by a fierce warrior, the early ancestors of the Warthorn focused primarily on fortification and rigorous training in order to prepare themselves and the generations to come to survive in the harsh craggy landscape. First Elven War War erupted in year 25 between the Ambersight and their Elven brethren. The Warthorn notably chose to fight against the majority of the other Elves on the side of the Ambersight. It was during this first war that the Warthorn began to develop their reputation for being incredible warriors. Even though they had fought with the Ambersight during the war, the Warthorn were among the first Elves to swear fealty to the newly-instated royal House Fischbach. The Queen sent a large contingent of Warthorn warriors to serve as King Oliver Fischbach's most loyal and trusted guards. For several centuries after, the prestigious Crownguard was made up primarily of Warthorn soldiers. War of the Serpent When the Ambersight Princess Tourmaline and her father King Aleron claimed that Oliver I had sent assassins to kill Queen Ianira, the Warthorn were among the Elves that sought to put an end to the Dark Magic that appeared to be corrupting the Ambersight. Though the Queen sent soldiers to war, the Fischbachs and the Crownguard remained neutral in the war until the devastating Battle of Labhruinn. A great number of Warthorn Elves valiantly died in this battle, causing both the royal family and House Warthorn to erect monuments dedicated to the warriors' memory. Queen Eirisse In 198, the Queen of Maoldonaich was taken captive by her own sister, Eirisse. Eirisse was confined to the Temple of Shadows until Prince Henry traveled to Maoldonaich to resolve the situation. Eirisse's insurection was quelled for the time being. However, Eirisse had become Queen of Maoldonaich by 224, when she ordered the Army of Maoldonaich to exterminate the people of other races and clans to purify Cartham as she saw fit. The Warthorn suffered two years of terror and distrust while ruled by Eirisse before she was killed in 226. To prevent a repeat of history, all of Eirisse's female descendants were slaughtered. Her male descendants were either put to the sword or exiled. Those who survived, escaped, or sympathized with Eirisse's regime defected from the Warthorn clan to form the Interlopers. They believed that both House Warthorn and House Fischbach had mistreated them and sought to bring Eirisse's dream of a purely Warthorn kingdom to fruition. The Great War It appears that following Eirisse's insurrection, the Crownguard began to have more variety within its ranks, something that had been fully realized by the Great War. Culture & Characteristics Faith The Warthorn worship several deities, though the unnamed Goddess responsible for creating the world is considered to be the most important and powerful. Among their other deities are Kohrbein, Yrsa, and Herlu. These deities are shared with the Athesian religion in the north. Origins Like all Elves, the Warthorn originate from the Bloodleaf Lake basin. Unlike the other Elves, however, they moved northward along the Blackhelm River and into the Highlands. Their remote and secretive location as well as the region's harshness became a defining factor in their culture. Gender roles Warthorn society is primarily matriarchal, women tending to be the heads of the family and government. Women have more say in assembly than their male counterparts. Women are especially common in combat positions, favored for their agility and stealth. Housewives, mothers and teachers are held in high regard and celebrated. Adultery is impermissible for a man, and according to Warthorn law, a wife can legally kill her husband and his lover if she discovers them in the act. Women's extramarital affairs garner less censure, though men are entitled to all of their wife's property if he discovers her in the act. Divorce is common, relatively easy, and can be initiated by either the man or woman. Women are entitled to compensation in order to support themselves and their families if their husband is found guilty of wrongdoing. Government All free Elves gather in their communities to make law and decide cases in meetings called Things. The Thing is presided over by the Queen of Maoldonaich. Rather than have all disputes settled by duel or family feuds, the Thing was instituted to both write law and to decide cases of disputes within the law. The Thing meets at specific, regular times. Each Thing has a law speaker who recites the law from memory. The law speaker and the Queen judge and settle the cases of dispute they hear, although all free Elves of the community have a say. Things are dominated by a local, powerful family or families. The Council meetings with the Royal Family of Cartham is referred to as the "Althing". Malefactors who are tried at the Thing and found guilty are either fined, declared semi-outlaw or fully outlawed. To be an outlaw is a dreadful punishment for a Warthorn. That person is put outside of Warthorn law, banished from society, and his property confiscated. They are to receive no help, no food and no support from anyone. Besides the terrible loneliness, these people can be killed by anyone. They often flee the country and try to settle in some other location. Besides the proto-court of the Thing, disputes can also be settled by arbitration, where both parties agree on an objective third party to judge between them. A dispute can also be settled by a duel, which is fought either to first blood or to death. If the dispute is taken to the Thing, the loser can be subjected to a fine, which would be paid to the injured party or to partial outlawry, which would last for three years, or to complete outlawry as described above. The Thing has both judiciary and legislative powers, but no power to carry out a sentence. The injured party’s family carry out the sentence. Politics, community decisions and new laws are also functions of the Thing. These meetings generally last several days, often with a festive atmosphere. Traders bring their goods for sale and merchants set up booths for their wares. Things are held where water was easily obtained, there is grazing for animals and fishing or hunting provide food for all. Brew masters bring barrels of ale and mead. During the Thing, marriages are arranged, alliances are crafted, news and gossip exchanged, and friendships established and renewed. Warfare The Warthorn Elves are highly respected as warriors, even by the Carthian royal family, and are usually employed as Crownguards. Those who are chosen are known to be extremely devoted to the Royal Family, and will go to extreme lengths to protect the kingdom. The Warthorn are known to excel in mobility and jumping, and specialize in hand-to-hand combat. Therefore, they are feared above all else. All Warthorn women and men are required to own weapons and are permitted to carry them at all times. These arms are indicative of a Warthorn's social status: a wealthy Warthorn Elf has a complete ensemble of a helmet, shield, mail shirt, and sword. However, swords are rarely used in battle. A typical Warthorn Elf is more likely to fight with a spear and shield, and most also carried a utility knife that doubles as a side-arm. Bows are used in the opening stages of battles, but they tend to be considered less "honourable" than melee weapons. The Warthorn are relatively unusual for their use of axes as a main battle weapon, a trait shared with only the Athesians and Dwarves. The warfare and violence of the Warthorn are often motivated and fuelled by their belief in the Goddess and their lesser deities, focusing on Kohrbein and Kundek, the Athesian gods of war and death. In combat, it is believed that the Vikings sometimes engaged in a disordered style of frenetic, furious fighting known as "berserking", leading them to be termed "berserkers". The Warthorn beserkers are said to have spiritual magical powers from the Goddess that allow them to become impervious to injuries on the battlefield. Several Warthorn Elves have been able to enter an intense, trance-like state whereupon they "engage in reckless fighting". These warriors are greatly feared by the rest of the world. Violence is seen as a measure to defend honor. Honor is extremely important to the Warthorn, and the sense of shaming one's honor extends beyond physical and material injuries. Honor can be shamed from mere insults, where Warthorn are expected to react with violence, often resulting in death. With this prevalence of violence comes the expectation of fearlessness. Warthorn believe that the time of death for any individual is predetermined, but that nothing else in life is. Considering this, Warthorn believe there to be two possibilities in life: "success with its attendant, fame; or death". The necessity of defending honor with violence, the belief that time of death was preordained, adventure and fearlessness are core values to the Warthorn. These principal values and convictions are displayed in the tactics of Warthorn raids and warfare. Warthorn battle tactics contain elements of surprise. They are notorious for laying ambushes and using woods to lay in wait for armies approaching along established roads. If confronted by legitimate forces in raids, the Warthorn create a wedge formation, with the berserkers at the front of this wedge. They throw spears, and rush this wedge through enemy lines where they could engage in hand-to-hand combat, which is their forte. Deceit, stealth, and ruthlessness are not seen as cowardly. Warriors can be as young as twelve years old. Various basic physical tests are required to join the Warthorn forces, but these tests are considered easy to pass. Relationship with the Royal Family Since swearing fealty to House Fischbach in year 30, the Warthorn have been one of the kingdom's most steadfast supporters in political matters. Even so, they prefer to remain remote and close-knit, causing most people to know nothing of them. Languages The primary language of the Warthorn Elves is Elven. All Warthorn who have studied to become Crownguards are also fluent in Carthian. Their writings usually take the form of runic inscriptions, which are usually very short and formulaic. When speaking, they tend to roll their "r" sounds and pronounce the "w" sound as "v". Their voice tends to go up at the end of sentences. Naming Warthorn parents name their children after a deceased relative, preferably a direct ancestor such as a grandparent or great-grandparent. By naming a child after a dead relative, it is believed that part of the deceased person’s luck attaches to the new child and brings them success in life. In a sense, a part of the deceased lives on in the child. If a relative dies while a child is in the womb, that child always takes the name of that relative. If a boy’s father dies before he is born, the boy receives the father’s name. If an honored ancestor had a common name, then the ancestor’s byname or nickname would also be given to the child. Thus, names remain in the same families for long periods of time. Many Warthorn parents use two other naming conventions when giving their children names. One is alliteration; the same sound used in the beginning of each child’s name. Another principle is variation, changing one name element while leaving the other the same for all children. Alliteration and variation are ancient naming customs. While many Warthorn names have only one name element, others have two name elements or more. For example, the name Bjorn, meaning Bear, is one name element. Bjornstein, meaning Bear Rock, is a name with two elements. It’s important to remember that name elements must be carefully used. Some name elements are used only in the first position, others only in the last position. Some are used only for males; others used only for females. Warthorn parents also sometimes choose the name of a god to use in their children’s names. Warthorn often receive nicknames from people who know them well. Nicknames are usually derogatory. People themselves don’t use their nicknames, but others refer to them by it. People can get stuck with a nickname because of a physical or character trait, their occupation, place of origin, or habits. Warthorn use the patronymic or metronymic systems for their surnames. The Warthorns' bastard surname is Pyke. Popular male names: Bjorn, Lars, Steffen, Tore, Sigve, Ivar, Steinar, Halvard, Jorn, Ingvald, Sigbjorn, Runar, Agnar, Asgeir, Mads, Harald, Jorgen, Alf, Georg, Klaus, Ulrik, Peder, Ragnar, Yngvar, Einar, Nils, Hans, Arvid Popular female names: '''Astrid, Signe, Inga, Gudrun, Marita, Gjertrud, Ashild, Hildegard, Synne, Sigrun, Torunn, Gunhild, Sigrid, Birgitte, Dagny, Maiken, Fryd, Aina, Else, Oda, Anja, Janne, Kine, Lise, Ragna, Maja '''Common surnames: Nordrum, Axelsen, Berge, Sparre, Svehla, Bolstad, Stensen, Kleven, Gard, Thune, Lovik Technology The Warthorn have enhanced their technical capabilities with various research and create tools unique to their clan. Cuisine The Warthorn farm crops, grow gardens, and raise animals, as is typical of food produced from a feudal economy. They eat what they produce on their farms or what they can hunt, fish or gather. Warthorn farms are generally small, but large enough to keep the family or extended family well-fed in good years. Their food is seasonal, so they might have a lot of food available to eat at some times of the year and very little to eat at others. On a typical day at the farm, the family eats two meals. One, the dagmal, or day meal, is served an hour after rising. The family eats the nattmal, or night meal, at the end of the working day. For breakfast, the dagmal, the adults might eat a bit of some leftover stew still in the cauldron from the night before, with bread and fruit. The children have porridge and dried fruit or perhaps buttermilk and bread. The evening meal could be fish or meat, stewed with vegetables. They might also eat some more dried fruit with honey as a sweet treat. The Warthorn drink ale, mead, or buttermilk daily. Feasts include the same foods—meat, fish, fowl, vegetables, wild greens, bread and fruit, but in a greater variety than usual meal and more of it. The Warthorn enjoy drinking ale and mead at feasts. Women cook meats, vegetables and breads over the hearth. A wife either roasts the meat on a spit over the fire or boils it in a soapstone pot or iron cauldron. The Warthorn love rich stews, so often meats, vegetables and wild greens are stewed in the cauldron with water. Breads are baked on flat stones or iron griddles over the fire. Salt and pepper are available to most Warthorn while costlier spices are imported and added to the foods of the wealthy. Customs Unlike most other clans of Elves, the Warthorn are at home amongst stony crags and cracked badlands where life is hard and very little grows. True survivalists, the Warthorn Elves know how to find the necessities of life when they are almost impossible to be found, and enjoy thriving in lands that would kill their less hearty brethren. Their weapons are usually crafted using the bones of slain enemies or game rather than wood. The Warthorn are often not very level-headed, and have short tempers and are very moody. They are shown to be incredibly loyal to their families and those who employ them. They are also shown to be reserved and somewhat arrogant, believing other warriors to be inferior to them. They, as a society, hate cowardice and disloyalty. Warthorn Elves tend to be seen as a dour and serious lot. They rarely express emotion to others or in public situations. Warthorn Elves, unlike their Elven brethren, tend to distrust magic. They tend toward martial practices and view magic as a gift from the Goddess, a gift that is so powerful and mysterious that it should be left to Her. For this reason, they do not possess the innate spell abilities that their Elven brethren do. However, even though they feel as they do about magic, there are those that become Mages. Mages are known as seiðkonur and seiðmenn, and are extremely powerful, often trained in several forms of magic. The seiðr separate themselves from the other Warthorn Elves, and are particularly of use to House Warthorn as consuls. Their lives are geared toward the simple matter of survival in the Highlands. Yet the Warthorn find that this life, more than anything else, gives them their greatest pleasure. Not for them are the sophistication of art and delicate music. They prefer a simpler life. Their music is that of the wind through the canyons, the howl of wolves, and the cries of birds. Their art, in the form of tattoos, is inspired by war and battle achievements. The Warthorn Elves, by their very nature, seem more prone to violence than their cousins. Their muscles are larger, their complexions more florid. They have pale blond hair, which contrasts with their lightly tanned skin. The Warthorn are a dour and unimaginative people, and are master warriors and mages, and their skill in battle makes them valuable companions in a dangerous world. Their beginnings are shrouded in mystery and they have developed abilities in magic quite unlike their Elven kin. Warthorn structures are sturdy in design, comprised of stone and reinforced with lumber and metal. Most of their smaller buildings tend to be circular or cylindrical in shape. The Highlands' terrain and climate do not easily yield the necessities of daily life. The Warthorn place less emphasis on courtly ritual and culture, and instead prefer hunting and brawling. Their tourneys are often melees and rarely feature jousting. The Warthorn have long memories, and a lord who does not seek his rightful vengeance threatens to have his own men turn on him. Some Warthorn live in remote, distant areas where they act as little more than tribes. These remote folk are still vassals of House Warthorn and therefore House Fischbach, and are allowed to maintain their own ways and traditions as long as they remain loyal to the Queen of Maoldonaich and King of Cartham. Physical appearance Life amongst the world's stonelands has hardened the Warthorn, giving them tanned, leathery skin thick with calluses and, in the fullness of life, scars. Indeed, many families practice ritual scarification, etching scar-signs for family, completed rites of passage, and other important life events the wearer or their tribe wishes all others to know about. The skin tones of Warthorn Elves are roughly equivalent to the wide range found in Humanity, but trend towards earthier, darker tones. Stockier than other Elves and built full of lean muscle, the Warthorn are somewhat taller than the average Human, typically ranging from six to six-and-a-half feet tall. Female Warthorn Elves are usually a few inches shorter than males and, until they have done some deed worthy of distinction, wear their hair tied back or short-cropped and close to their neck. Males are slightly bulkier, and either keep their hair similarly short-cropped or shaved entirely. Warthorn Elves usually have red eyes, blonde hair, and large, pointed ears. Their architecture is very basic and not much attention is paid to aesthetics. Warthorn clothing is much less gaudy than one would normally expect from an Elf. The focus of their clothing is on integrity and usefulness, so most of their clothes are simple and functional. They are usually represented by arrows, and the colors black, gray and brown. Notables Leadership * Second century-?- Signy * ?-226- Eirisse * 226-?- Freydis * ?-11th century- Aslaug * 11th century-present- Naumys MacMahon Factions and allies Factions * The Interlopers Allies * House Fischbach Known Warthorn Elves Main page: Known Warthorn Elves * Lydia Finekin * Olaf Finekin * Ralof Finekin * Mea Finekin * Senka Finekin * Aeda Battleroot * Geirny MacEwan * Arnulf MacEwan * Naumys MacMahon * Ciara MacMahon * Arnthorr MacMahon * Deirdre MacMahon * Ivosaar MacMahon * Henry Curadh * Siobahn Curadh Known Part-Warthorn Elves * Auraum Wildhand Category:Warthorn Elves